Enough
by hitobashira
Summary: The summer after the Third Task, Harry is abandoned by the wizarding world and by all his friends so he decides turnabout is fair play and abandons them. Will be a Harry/Ginny
1. Prologue

Enough was enough, Harry thought as he contemplated the locked door that was all that separated him from his so-called family, the Dursleys. He'd been depressed ever since he'd returned from Hogwarts this year, especially because of the events that had surrounded the Third Task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament; the death of Cedric Diggory and the resurrection of the darkest wizard in current times, Voldemort. Harry's sleep had been fitful since then. When he wasn't dreaming of Voldemort and his loyal Death Eaters, he was having nightmares about the Third Task. And he'd had to deal with the Dursleys.  
  
Harry wasn't sure why Dumbledore had sent them the letter telling about the events that had occurred in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, but he had. For all the good it had done. Uncle Vernon had immediately turned on Harry and delivered a blustering diatribe about how much he disliked 'that sort' and how Harry should have had the common courtesy to get himself killed as well. Dudley had taken to tormenting Harry physically again, as he had when they were younger. Not even the specter of Harry's escaped convict godfather seemed to stop him anymore.  
  
Harry could have lived with the Dursleys making his life miserable, after all he'd lived with it for his whole life, but it was everything else that had tipped the full bucket. He'd started a subscription with the Daily Prophet and the news in it had scarcely helped. Disappearances among the Muggle-born were mentioned in the headlines, which dovetailed with the atrocities that the Muggle papers were reporting as an IRA terrorist action. Rita Skeeter was noticeably absent from the bylines, which made Harry wonder what Hermione had done with her. He doubted she was still keeping her trapped in that jar. Despite Skeeter's absence, enough was flying around in the Daily Prophet that was openly condemning of Harry over Cedric's death and over the disappearance. Their favorite theory was that Voldemort had possessed Harry's body and was now on the loose again. Harry had to chuckle at how close they'd actually come to the truth before missing it completely.  
  
What had really hurt was the lack of contact with his friends. He'd sent Hedwig out several times with messages for Ron and Hermione, even for Fred and George, but she'd always come back without a reply. Sometimes, she'd even come back with the letter he'd sent, unopened. It had hurt Harry a lot that his friends hadn't wanted to keep in touch with him, especially since they knew he depended on them to stay sane at the Dursleys. At first, he'd thought it was another person blocking his mail, like Dobby had before his second year, but Hermione had given him her telephone number during their third year, when she found out that he'd been turned out of the Dursleys and had to hitch a ride on the Knight Bus. He'd tried calling her at her home when several of his letters had passed without a response. Her father had answered and told Harry that Hermione didn't wish to speak to him at all and not to call them again.  
  
Harry had been crushed. Hermione had been the one person who'd stuck by him through thick and thin since they'd become friends in first year. Even when Ron had turned on him in jealousy, she'd been there for him. Harry had sunk into a funk as the summer wore on. His birthday had come and gone without do much as an owl from anyone. Now, as the mid-August heat turned the smallest bedroom at Number 4, Privet Drive into an oven, Harry began to wonder what the purpose of it all was.  
  
He'd been so happy at Hogwarts. For the first time in his life, he'd had friends and a family of sorts, but now they had abandoned him. Them and the rest of the wizarding world. Harry now found himself wishing that Hagrid had never made sure he'd gotten his Hogwarts letter. If he'd never known life could be better, that he had once had people love him, maybe it wouldn't have hurt so much to be abandoned.  
  
Harry stared out the window as that word rang through his head, abandoned. This would make the third time he'd been abandoned. First, there was his parents when he was a baby. He knew they didn't want to leave him, that they'd been taken, but they'd still abandoned him. Second was the Wizarding world. They were so quick to condemn him at the slightest provocation over the years and they were doing it again. Finally and most painfully was this abandonment by his friends. Well no more. They'd abandoned him, so he was going to abandon them. Let them deal with Voldemort on their own. Let them solve their own problems. Harry Potter was through being a boy hero. It was time to strike out on his own. Despite his anger and despair, Harry felt a swelling inside his heart, the joyous feeling that accompanied using his magic as he vanished from the room.  
  
Author's note:  
  
This is just the prologue. I'm hoping it will really take off from here. It will be a Harry/Ginny relationship, and don't worry if the actions of the other characters seem out of place. There's a good reason. 


	2. Chapter 1

Ginny Weasley wondered when the world had gone insane. She was standing in the Leaky Cauldron, watching as he mother tried, unsuccessfully, to browbeat Fred and George into behaving themselves while they went shopping for their school books. From the hidden smiles that they traded back and forth, Ginny knew her mother was wasting her breath, but listening to that diatribe was better than concentrating on the conversations going on around her in the tavern. The conversations about Voldemort and the ones about Harry.  
  
When the Daily Prophet had first started printing the articles about the disappearances, everyone had been worried. The Ministry had stuck by their stance that Voldemort was dead and remained that way, despite everything Harry had told them about what had happened after the Third Task. What frustrated Ginny the most was how easily people wanted to believe the worst about Harry. Even Ron was ready to believe the worst; after all, he spent most of the first half of the school year not talking to Harry in a fit of jealousy. Ginny had believed in him the whole time, but she knew he didn't want her support. He barely knew her.  
  
Ginny gave a depressed sigh. That was the story of her life. No one ever saw her as a person, she was always someone's little sister. The only time she'd ever really stood out was the whole incident with the Chamber of Secrets and she had always wished that had never happened. Even though Harry had risked his life to save her, it had been because she was Ron's sister, not because she was Ginny.  
  
Ginny noticed her mother winding down her speech with a huff and moved closer to the rear door of the tavern. She knew her mother was nervous about coming to Diagon Alley today. Only last week, a Muggle family here shopping for their daughter's school supplies had vanished when a shopfront had exploded. No one else had been harmed, but the family had never been found, nor had they returned home since.  
  
"Come on then," Molly Weasley said as she marched her children out the back of the tavern and into the alleyway that concealed the entrance to Diagon Alley. Fred, George, Ron and Ginny followed behind wordlessly, although Fred and George were still trading grins in a way that had Ginny's danger sense blaring full blast. Those two were completely inscrutable, but years of living with them had given Ginny a sense of when doom was impending. Poor Ron was always caught off guard by the twins, but Ginny had that vital few seconds of warning that usually enabled her to avoid the worst of their pranks.  
  
The entrance to Diagon Alley opened as normal, the bricks sliding away to form an arch opening on the street, but Ginny was immediately struck by the quiet. Normally, Diagon Alley was a cacophony of noise and color as wizards, witches, goblins, hag and various animals and pets moved about. Only silence greeted the Weasley family as they stepped through the arch, the gateway closing behind them. Ginny could see her mother craning her neck, looking about nervously, worriedly.  
  
"Wands out," Mrs. Weasley whispered as she pulled her wand from the sleeve of her robe. As Ginny pulled her wand out, a cry of "Stupefy!" rang out in the alley. Her brothers scattered like leaves before the storm as her mother took the stunner full on. Mrs. Weasley crumpled to the ground silently as two black robed and masked figures stepped out from a nearby storefront.  
  
"Expelliarmus!" Ron shouted, his wand flashing out the disarming curse at one of the figures that Ginny suddenly realized was a Death Eater. The masked man sidestepped the curse and threw another stunner at the group, winging Ron and sending him tumbling to the ground. Ginny stood frozen in terror as the two Death Eaters approached. Fred and George stepped in front of Ginny, blocking her view of the advancing figures.  
  
"Ginny, run," one of the twins said.  
  
"We'll hold them off while you get away," the other said.  
  
"I'm not leaving you," Ginny said, her voice trembling.  
  
One of the Death Eaters laughed as he looked at the Weasley twins. Turning to his companion, he said, "Our master wants the girl, the others are of no use. Kill them if they resist." The other nodded and raised his wand again.  
  
"Ginny, run now," one of the twins yelled over his shoulder. "We'll be okay, but it's you they're after. You have to get away, now!"  
  
Ginny nodded and bolted for one of the alleys between the shops. She could feel the tingle of a curse narrowly missing her as she ducked around the corner and broke into a full run. She could hear Fred and George trading curses with the Death Eaters as she ran further and further away until she couldn't hear them anymore. She zigged and zagged down side streets until she was completely lost.  
  
Crouching down behind a stack of crates, Ginny hugged herself as she shivered. She hadn't been this scared for a long time. Not since she'd first realized that she might have been responsible for the killings when the Chamber of Secrets was opened. Her mother and Ron were unconscious and Fred and George were facing off against a pair of Death Eaters. While she had confidence in those two to mastermind a prank and get away with it, she was worried now. They'd never had to stand against dark wizards before, they'd never had the training to deal with it like the aurors did.  
  
Ginny froze as she heard footsteps echoing down the street. She could make out voices as they approached. Deep masculine voices, with a cruel cast to them. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but she knew that she had better find a good place to hide. She looked around frantically, before she spied a grate on the gutter in the street. If she could get that free, it was just big enough to let her through. She was petite, and she doubted any full sized man could fit through the opening to come after her.  
  
Steeling herself, Ginny dashed across the open street and dropped to her knees in front of the grate. She dropped her wand to the flagstones of the street and gripped the grate with both hands and began tugging with all her might. Her heart lurched when the grate wouldn't budge. She tugged at it some more and felt it give a little, when she spotted a small padlock at one corner. She grabbed her wand and muttered "Alohamara." The unlocking charm caused the padlock to snap open and fall free of the grate. Ginny silently blessed Hermione for having shown her that particular charm. She wrenched the grate free and set it carefully to the side.  
  
Ginny lay down on her belly and reached into the opening, feeling her way around, desperately trying to ignore the approaching footsteps. Finding the edge that dropped off into the sewers, Ginny took a deep breathe and exhaled slowly, deflating her lungs as much as possible before wriggling her way into the hole, clutching her wand tightly. It was a tight fit that had Ginny cursing the bountiful bosom that she'd inherited from her mother, but she finally managed to wiggle her upper body through.  
  
Ginny hung, half inside the opening and reached around, searching for a handhold. Luckily, the old stone of the sewer was crumbling and was rough enough to make ready handholds. Gripping tightly, Ginny managed to swing herself all the way into the sewer, almost losing her grip as her center of balance changed, but she clung to her handhold with all her terrified might. Once she'd regained her balance, Ginny reached back into the opening and pulled the grate back in front of it. While on close examination, it would be obvious that it had been opened, to the casual glance it would look as if it was still locked tight.  
  
Satisfied that her trail was covered, Ginny started her descent into the darkness. Some light was still filtering in through the grate, but it was still very dim as she worked her way down handhold by handhold. There were a couple of close moments as the stone crumbled under her questing fingers, but she eventually made it safely to the bottom. Water was flowing down the center of the sewer, but there was just enough light to let Ginny make out the paved walkway to either side. She stepped gingerly on the walkway and quickly grabbed at the stone again as her shoes slipped on the slime.  
  
Ginny pulled out her wand after she managed to steady herself. A muttered "Lumos" and a small globe of weak light emerged from the tip of her wand, giving enough illumination to navigate by. Ginny moved carefully, trying to avoid the worst of the slime.  
  
The sewers under this part of London were a labyrinth of tunnels, faced in brick that obviously hadn't been visited in years. There was slime everywhere and garbage floated down the water. The only sounds Ginny could make out were the echoes of her hesitant footsteps, the drip of water and the scuttling of the rats. Ginny shuddered at the thought of rats. As a witch, she knew she shouldn't have a problem with rats, but when she had been little, Fred and George had locked her in her room and turned all of her dolls into rats. She had been terrified to the point of gibbering when her older brother Charlie had come to her rescue. Ever since, she'd held a particular dislike of rats close to her heart, much like Ron had with spiders, so she wasn't all that broken up when Scabbers had disappeared a year and a half ago. She never could understand how Ron and Percy could have put up with such a revolting little creature as a pet for so many years.  
  
It seemed like hours as Ginny wandered the sewer tunnels, although her watch was telling her that it had barely been forty-five minutes since the Weasleys had entered Diagon Alley. Her feet were starting to hurt and the air really smelled down here. Normally, you stopped noticing bad smells when you got used to them. Merlin knows Fred and George had set off enough of them for Ginny to have been accustomed to bad smells, but the smells down in the sewer were ever-changing. As Ginny headed down a tunnel, she heard a whisper of movement coming from up ahead. It wasn't the rats, and it wasn't a piece of garbage falling. No it sounded like footsteps. Ginny froze and the footsteps continued, growing closer.  
  
"Who's there," Ginny said softly, hesitantly, praying that the approaching footsteps weren't a Death Eater. She'd begun shaking again; shaking so hard that her wand was making patterns in the air as her hands bounced. The footsteps stopped. "I know someone's there," Ginny continued, trying to project more confidence into her voice. "Identify yourself, or I'll curse you, I promise." There was a heavy silence as Ginny waited for an answer.  
  
"Ginny, is that you," a deep voice asked from the darkness, full of incredulity. Ginny jumped at the sound of it. It was very familiar, something she'd heard many times, but different somehow and she couldn't quite place it. "What are you doing down here," the voice continued. The footsteps started again and Ginny could make out a form moving closer in the faint light. As the form moved closer, Ginny was finally able to realize why the voice was so familiar.  
  
"Harry, is that you," Ginny asked incredulously. Harry was supposed to be sequestered at the Dursleys. What was he doing here in the sewers beneath Diagon Alley?  
  
"It is you, Ginny, " Harry said as he stopped a few feet away from her. "What are you doing down here? Shouldn't you be at home with your family?"  
  
At the thought of her family, Ginny finally burst into tears and threw herself at Harry sobbing into his shirt. Harry looked down at her, confused, as he awkwardly put his arms around her in a comforting fashion. Harry had never really had much to do with Ginny, not since the Chamber of Secrets, so he had no idea how to calm her down, or even what had set her off, so he just held her.  
  
Eventually, Ginny managed to regain control of herself and pulled away from Harry, reluctantly. She'd been comfortable in his arms like that, but she needed to be able to talk.  
  
"So are you going to tell me what you're doing down here," Harry asked, a bit of a hard edge in his voice. "I doubt you're down here for a stroll for your health."  
  
"In a way, I am," Ginny replied with a weak smile, her hand searching in her pockets for a handkerchief. Finding one, she managed to wipe off some of the tears that stained her face, although Ginny was sure her face was a blotchy mess by now. She'd never looked very good after crying a lot. "Mum brought me and the boys here to do our school shopping, but when we got into the alley two Death Eaters attacked. They knocked out Mum and Ron. Then Fred and George told me to run while they held them off. One of the Death Eaters said that You-Know-Who wanted me," Ginny continued.  
  
"So, I ran through the streets until I got completely lost," Ginny said. "Then I spotted the sewer grate and thought they'd never find me down here. I started wandering around and here I am. Now it's your turn, Harry. What are you doing down here? Shouldn't you be at the Dursley's still?"  
  
Harry hmmed at Ginny's response and looked thoughtful for a moment before replying. "I'm not going to stay at the Dursley's anymore," Harry said in a nonchalant manner. "I wanted to be there even less than they wanted me to be there, so I left. I wound up here."  
  
Ginny looked at Harry confused. "But didn't Dumbledore have people watching the Dursley's," she asked, "after all, he wants to keep you safe."  
  
"There are ways around any kind of watcher," Harry replied vaguely, his tone distant.  
  
"But won't he be worried about you," Ginny asked. "I know I. I know we were worried about you after everything that happened last year."  
  
"You were probably the only ones," Harry replied, a hint of anger creeping into his voice. "After all, most of the wizarding world believes that not only did I kill Cedric, but that I've taken Voldemort's place as the menace of the wizarding world."  
  
"That's not true," Ginny protested weakly.  
  
"Of course it's not true," Harry replied sharply, "but that's what most of the people believe. It makes me kind of sick that after all I've done, everyone's always ready to believe the worst of me. It doesn't matter what I do, someone always twists it into something awful and the people lap it up." Harry's voice had been becoming more and more angry as he talked. Ginny could practically feel the rage seething beneath the surface and it frightened her a little, but this was Harry and she would never be afraid of Harry. Never.  
  
"I've never believed any of that," Ginny said softly.  
  
Harry stopped abruptly and looked at her sharply. Ginny could almost feel the heat of his rage in that gaze, but then his features softened. "No," he replied. "No, you were always one to believe the best about me, weren't you, Ginny?"  
  
"Yes, Harry," Ginny replied, stepping closer and taking his large hand in hers. She'd always noticed that his hands were large. His fingers were long and slender, but gave the promise of power. They were also rough with calluses, from Quiddritch and from manual labor, if Ginny's estimate of the Dursley's was correct. "I've always believed in you," she continued, "and I always will."  
  
Harry stared down at Ginny for a moment before shaking his head. "You said there were Death Eaters after you, right," he asked.  
  
"Yes," Ginny replied. "There were at least two at the entrance and then at least two more patrolling the streets."  
  
Harry stared down at Ginny and his brow furrowed in thought. "When did you cast that light spell?"  
  
"I cast it as soon as I got down into the sewer. Why?"  
  
"Damn," Harry spat. Ginny was taken a little aback. She'd never heard Harry swear like that before. "You'll have to put the light out, Ginny," Harry said. "The Death Eaters can track people by their wands like they can at the Improper Use of Magic office. Once it's out, stick with me. I'll show you a place where we can lay low for a while."  
  
"All right, Harry," Ginny replied, "Nox." Ginny's light vanished, leaving her completely in the dark again. She probably would have started to panic, but she could still feel Harry's hand in hers as he squeezed gently.  
  
"Follow me," Harry whispered in the darkness. "There's a safe place nearby. I found it a week ago. They won't find us there." And with that, Harry led Ginny off into the dark maze.  
  
Author's note:  
  
Well, this was an interesting chapter to write. Not as long as I wanted it to be, but that's okay. I'll deal more with what happened to Harry next chapter and don't worry, Harry's still plenty angry, just not with Ginny. She's always been shown to have believed in him. 


	3. Chapter 2

Harry tried very hard to concentrate on the route through the dark of the sewer tunnels, but he was finding it very difficult. His attention kept wandering to the small hand he had clasped tightly in his own. It was stupid, really, but he couldn't help but notice how small Ginny's hands were and how soft and warm. Feeling a flush rise on his face, Harry was glad that the dark was hiding them both effectively. Why was holding Ginny's hand like this bothering him so much? He'd held Hermione's hand once or twice, but it had never elicited any reaction like this before. In fact, it was starting to make his stomach twinge slightly, kind of like it had whenever he used to look at Cho.  
  
Harry shut that line of thought down immediately, and with a viciousness that almost surprised him. He didn't like to think about Cho anymore. He kept seeing her tearstreaked face from the farewell feast at the end of the previous school year. Her eyes still haunted him with their blank stare of blame. Why was it that Harry had to be the one to survive? Why couldn't he have saved Cedric?  
  
Harry shook his head to drive the damning thoughts back into the dark recesses of his mind. They'd be back to haunt him, he knew that, but right now he had to get Ginny to safety. At the very least, he could make sure that Ginny was safe. He'd always worried about her. She was so quiet and reserved that she seemed to fade into the background. Ron had always said that she was talkative and as fiery as the other Weasleys, but Harry had never seen that in her. Not since her first year and the Chamber of Secrets. Harry felt a shiver run down his spine as he thought about what had happened in the Chamber. He'd never really talked about what had happened in there, never really told anyone everything.  
  
When he'd seen Tom Riddle there in the flesh, so to speak, he'd been struck by the resemblance he bore to the young man who would become one of the most evil wizards the wizarding world had ever known. Both had been orphans, both had been despised by their families, there had even been a great deal of physical similarity. Enough of a similarity to wonder. Then he'd seen Ginny laying on the floor. That sight still haunted his dreams occasionally, vying with his other nightmares for dream time. She'd been so pale, so small lying there on the ground her life and magic bleeding into the diary to feed Riddle. He'd thought she was going to die.  
  
He'd managed to pull it off in time, though, destroying the basilisk and the memory of Riddle. He had been perfectly willing to die so that she would survive. He'd watched as she woke, surprised to find him there with her, as his vision dimmed with the effects of the basilisk's poison. He'd thought, with no small amount of guilty relief, that it was all over; that he'd reached the end of his line. He'd been kind of happy that his death would have had some meaning, that Ginny would live. He'd been surprised by the wetness that had spread warmth through his body. He'd never really known about the healing properties of the phoenix's tears. Oh, Dumbledore had mentioned something about it, but Harry hadn't really being paying much attention.  
  
Harry had been almost angry as his strength started to come back. He was so tired of the expectations, of the blame that everyone put on him, but his eyes opened, reluctantly. The sight of Ginny bending over him in concern, her red hair blazing like a halo from the torchlight came back to him and made his breath catch in his chest.  
  
No, Harry told himself. Stop thinking about that. Just get her somewhere safe. Then she can contact her family and get out of your life. That's what I want, right? To get them all out of my life? Harry's thoughts whirled about in a confused jumble as he carefully picked his way towards the offshoot tunnel he'd found last week. It was dry and he'd managed to stash some of his supplies there as an emergency bolthole. Just in case the Death Eaters thought to look for him down here.  
  
Harry wasn't sure why this side tunnel had been built, but he suspected that he wasn't the first person to ever use it as a hiding place. It didn't have a door, but there were several large pieces of wood, probably from some sort of packing crates, that he used to block the entrance to the chamber. Harry spotted the turn-off and squeezed Ginny's hand gently before stopping.  
  
"I have to move this, Ginny," Harry said softly, "so don't cry out, all right? Sound really travels down here and it could alert the Death Eaters."  
  
"Okay, Harry," Ginny whispered back.  
  
Harry looked towards the doorway, barely able to make it out in the near-darkness and gathered in his will. He'd discovered a few handy tricks since he'd left the Dursleys and now he had a chance to show one of them off. Pointing his hand at the wood, he closed his eyes and muttered, "Wingardium Leviosa," and pictured the plank floating off to the side.  
  
Harry could feel the magic surging out of him through his hand and his brow furrowed in concentration as he choked back on it, but the plank floated to the side, albeit somewhat jerkily. It always seemed to work like that. Every time he cast a wandless spell, the magic seemed to flood out in a rush, causing an extremely spectacular result. It had taken Harry almost a month to figure out how to choke back the magic to where levitating the board didn't send it shooting across the room like a rocket. He heard Ginny gasp as the board moved out of the way and he turned, flashing her a weak smile before pulling her into the room.  
  
The chamber at the end of the side tunnel was unusual, to say the least. It had a very high domed ceiling, which was unusual in the sewers. Most of the sewers were fairly low and cramped, only big enough to allow someone to move through. Also, up at the apex of the dome was a large piece of stained glass, at least Harry thought it was glass. He wasn't sure since he'd never been able to get up there and look at it closely; although he suspected that if it had been glass, it would have broken years ago. The glass was split into a red, a yellow and a green piece and sunlight filtered through them glass, lighting the room in color.  
  
Ginny gasped in wonder as the color played across the room. The other singular feature about the room was that it still had some furniture in workable condition. Some of it was actually quite elegant, and Harry suspected that some sort of preservation spells had been worked to keep them intact. There were a couple of plush chairs, a couch and even a table scattered about the room, as well as remnants of other things and the garbage that remained from a previous occupant. Ginny let go of Harry's hand as she moved into the lit room, an expression of wonder on her face as she tiled it into the sunlight peeking into the room. Harry stared at her, a sharp pang running through him when she released his hand, enthralled. The light played in her hair, making it catch fire in a way he'd never seen before. It took his breath away.  
  
"So is this where you've been staying, Harry," Ginny asked timidly, turning back to face him.  
  
"Harry quickly regained his composure, silently berating himself for such a loss of control as he replied, "Yeah, my trunk is over in that alcove. I managed to scrounge up enough rags and clothes to make a mattress of sorts. It may not be the nicest place in the world, but it's better than being at the Dursley's."  
  
Ginny started walking around the room, stopping in front of the broad table that Harry had moved into the middle. A great deal of food had been laid out, although not much of it was very fresh. Harry came up behind her and said, "I go up into the alley late at night and glean the leftovers from some of the taverns and restaurants. It's not as good as the food at Hogwarts, but it's edible. Why don't you have a seat, I'm sure you're exhausted." Harry guided Ginny over to the couch and sat her down next to him. Ginny turned into him and laid her head on his chest.  
  
"What are we going to do now," she asked quietly. "I can't go back up there. The Death Eaters are looking for me and I don't know why. I don't even know if Fred, George or Ron were able to get Mum out of there. What if they're dead? Oh Harry, what am I going to do?"  
  
Ginny started crying softly again and Harry instinctively enfolded her in his arms once more. He thought for a moment before replying, "You're going to stay right here with me, Ginny. I don't know why Voldemort wants you either, but right now the safest place you can be is here with me. I'll protect you if any Death Eaters even think about coming down here."  
  
"But what about my family? What about school," Ginny asked as she sniffled back her tears.  
  
"I'm sure your family's going to be fine. Fred and George are masters of charms and curses. If anyone could get Ron and your mum away from the Death Eaters it would be them, I'd stake money on it," Harry replied. "As for school, well, that's a different story. I'm not going back this year. You could join me here if you want, since I don't think I could get you to King's Cross safely."  
  
"What do you mean by that, Harry," Ginny asked sharply, her head snapping up and turning to look him in the eye. "Why aren't you going back to Hogwarts? I thought you'd want to go back. That's where all your friends are, that's your real home, isn't it?"  
  
Harry's face flushed as the rage rose up in him again. He struggled to contain it and the magic that it summoned up as he answered her, "Friends? I don't have all that many friends there, Ginny. Most of the people I know at Hogwarts would have been happier if I'd been the one to die instead of Cedric. After all, they were always willing to believe all those awful stories about me that Malfoy and the Skeeter woman spread about me, even though they should have known better. No the only people there that would want me back are Ron and Hermione and I'm not too sure about them anymore." By now, the rage was flowing through him, coursing through his blood as he abruptly stood up and put some distance between himself and Ginny.  
  
"What are you talking about Harry," Ginny asked angrily, standing up to face him. "How can you doubt that Ron and Hermione are your friends?"  
  
"Oh yeah, great friends," Harry spat back, glaring down at Ginny. "Almost half of last year, Ron was being a jealous prat and treating me like a piece of dirt, then he doesn't even try to write me all summer, even when I send letters to him, they come back unopened. I know Hedwig tried to deliver them, but obviously he didn't want to talk to me."  
  
"But Ron said that you never wrote him," Ginny sputtered, unwilling to believe her brother was that much of a prat. "And any letters we tried to send to you came back as well."  
  
"And then there's Hermione," Harry continued on, not even hearing Ginny, "Not a word from her for weeks, then I try calling her on the telephone. She gave me her number last year, just in case I needed to get hold of her. And when I do call, her father tells me that she doesn't want to have anything to do with me."  
  
"Harry," Ginny said insistently, breaking through his rant, "Hermione couldn't have said that."  
  
"What are you talking about, Ginny," Harry asked irritably.  
  
"Hermione and her parents went to Bulgaria a week after we came home from Hogwarts for the summer," Ginny said. "It couldn't have been her father who answered."  
  
"Oh," Harry said, feeling strangely deflated. His head was spinning and the rage was starting to disappear. He slumped and shuffled over to couch, flopping down on it. "If Hermione was gone and so were her parents, that means there was somebody else was there. Someone had to answer the telephone and say that to me."  
  
Ginny moved back to the couch and sat next to Harry again, reaching out and taking one of his hands in both of hers and squeezing. "It was probably another Death Eater trick, Harry. You know they want to separate you from your friends. Your friends make you stronger and that's the last thing they want."  
  
Harry was silent while he let that idea bounce around in his head. It made sense, but Harry didn't want things to make sense. It was much simpler just to be angry at the world. Harry shook his head. He had to be honest with himself and accept that he'd been wrong. It was understandable, since he'd been deceived, but now that he knew about it he had to deal with the fact that he'd been in the wrong, at least about his friends.  
  
"You're right, Ginny," Harry said with a sigh. "I don't want you to be, but you're right and I'm wrong. Someone must have done that to try and break me off from my friends. I'd be willing to bet that someone was intercepting the letters as well, just like Dobby did in my second year. God, I've been an idiot. I thought I'd looked at all of the facts, but I didn't, did I?"  
  
"It's okay, Harry," Ginny said soothingly. "Anyone would have been fooled like that, especially if they'd gone through what you did last year."  
  
Harry didn't answer. He just leaned his head back and closed his eyes with a sigh. Ginny stared at him and bit her lip before asking, "Harry, about earlier. I've never seen you fly off the handle like that before. It just doesn't seem like you."  
  
"I don't know why I reacted like that, Ginny," Harry replied. "Ever since I got back from school this summer I've been angry with everything. I'd fly into a rage at the slightest provocation. Scared the hell out of my aunt and uncle too, especially when the magic leaked out and things started flying around the room. Made me wonder too, because after that, I'd expected an owl from the Improper Use of Magic office, but they didn't send me anything. Then I just got fed up with everything after calling Hermione's house and the magic just broke loose and I apparated here. Into this room, actually."  
  
"That doesn't seem right," Ginny said, her brow furrowing in thought. "It's like this anger isn't yours, but you're feeling it anyway. I've never heard of anything like that happening before."  
  
"Neither have I, Ginny, neither have I," Harry replied.  
  
"Then you'll have to come back to Hogwarts," Ginny said suddenly. "I'm willing to bet Dumbledore knows something about this. He always seems to know something."  
  
"I don't know, Ginny," Harry said hesitantly. "I really don't know if I could go back there, now. I mean, you saw how everyone looked at me during the Farewell Feast. They all blamed me for Cedric's death. Just imagine what they'll think now. Half the wizarding world is convinced that I've taken Voldemort's place and the other half believes that he's possessed me somehow."  
  
"That's not true, Harry," Ginny replied sharply. "You have a lot of people out there who believe in you, who need you in their lives. Like me." Ginny stopped abruptly, her face flushing at that comment. She hadn't meant to tell him that.  
  
It seemed that Ginny's slip had gone unnoticed as Harry replied, "I don't know if I can, Ginny, but I promise I'll think about it. Okay?"  
  
"I'm going to do my best to convince you, Harry," she replied with a smile.  
  
"I'll look forward to it," Harry said, the corners of his mouth quirking up slightly.  
  
Author's note:  
  
Well, this is moving along better than I expected. I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed so far and say that all your questions will be answered in time. There is a reason for these things that have happened, but they take time to come out. 


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